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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23747623">Hey how you doing (I’m doing just fine)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/romwaeta'>romwaeta (orphan_account)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, F/M, Lance is too self sacrificial for his own good, Pidge Angst, Pidge totally likes Lance, Torture, beta traz - what could go wrong, just let them get married pls, lance centric, lance wants to cry, pidge centric, pidge gets tortured, the warden is a dick, uwu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 15:48:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,705</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23747623</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/romwaeta</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Beta Traz mission goes awry, Lance and Pidge are left at The Warden’s mercy.</p><p>It’s putting it nicely to say that The Warden is mad about Slav’s freedom.</p><p>In fact, he’s willing to replace Slav.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lance/Pidge | Katie Holt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Hey how you doing (I’m doing just fine)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rueitae/gifts">Rueitae</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Pidge? Pidge where are you?” Lance yelled into the comms. She cursed, beads of sweat dripping down her face. Her breaths were slow, and she was focusing her attention on not getting noticed by the giant warden whose feet were mere centimeters from where her knees were pressed into her chest.</p><p>The keyboard clicks stopped, and Pidge stopped breathing- afraid her gentle pants would give away her hiding place. But unfortunately, Lance’s worried yells were.</p><p>“What have we here?” the warden mused, and Pidge released a sharp yelp as the desk was kicked to the side with brute force. She summoned her bayard, shooting the katar into the flesh of the Galran’s chest. She ducked beneath his swinging arm, sending an electric pulse through the glowing green cord as she wrapped it around his body.</p><p>“Pidge? What’s going on?” Shiro yelled, and the girl grunted, pulling back her bayard. She leaped into the air, kicking off of the desk with the thrust from her jetpack, and charged again. Her hand met with the man’s face, causing him to roar in frustrated anger. </p><p>“Little busy here!” She yelled into her comm. The warden was back on his feet, and two metal hands unlatched from his back. “Fuck,” she breathed, turning her back to the Galran, running out the door. </p><p>“Shiro! Lance! One of you has Slav so get to the area where we docked Blue, we have to get out of here now!” She hollered, dodging the paralyzing foam being shot at her. Pidge opened the holo screen on her gauntlet, fingers dancing over the Altean characters she had become familiar with. </p><p>The foam ceased fire, instead targeting the warden chasing her through the halls. She heard him yell in anger, and his heavy footsteps stopped. She didn’t dare look back, choosing to speed up her run towards the hangar.</p><p>“Pidge! What the heck happened back there?” Lance said, relief evident in his tone. Pidge glanced quickly behind her, pushing forward.</p><p>“Warden dude entered the office and I was hiding under the desk, but he heard the comms so we had a little fight,” Pidge shrugged. Her eyes rolled over the two unfamiliar figures near them. “So.. one of these is Slav?”</p><p>Shiro opened his mouth, but stopped as the sloth-like furby creature wrapped around his neck dropped to the ground, his multiple arms crossed in annoyance. “In 12.92% percent of realities, I am the one who saves you! If I didn’t have to walk over that crack, your chances of escape would have risen significantly from dead in a hole to just in a hole!” </p><p>“Okay so that’s Slav-” Pidge groaned, catching Shiro’s eye twitch.<br/>“You didn’t even walk over it! You wrapped yourself around my neck!” the black paladin protested. It was hardly ever that Shiro lost his calm, and Pidge supposed this was one of those times.</p><p>“But buddy! You said you were Slav- we bonded!” Lance whined, looking at the large alien. He was covered in a thick fur, a collar with a broken chain around his neck.</p><p>“Yup,” was all the creature responded with. His voice was deep, and Pidge raised an eyebrow at the interaction. Slav’s jaw dropped open, and Shiro’s shoulders tensed.</p><p>“Oh.. I can see where the confusion was,” Slav spoke. “That’s the warden’s pet Yepper, Laika,” </p><p>“Yepper..? Oh- well we should get going,” Lance shrugged, his face tugging into a thin frown. He turned to walk towards Blue, but stopped at the booming voice that resonated through the room.</p><p>Pidge turned, bayard in hand. The warden had freed himself from the paralyzation foam, and now was seething in anger. His mechanical hands fanned out, picking up Lance and holding him tightly. Pidge’s eyes widened, and she charged forward, aiming her bayard for the joint that connected the arm to the Galran.</p><p>“Lance!” she screamed, releasing the blade. The second hand grabbed it, and the slack in the cord stiffened. With all his strength, he pulled. Pidge’s feet were dragged away from the ground, and her body was swung into a large metal crate. She bit back a cry, instead a whimper slipping through her lips.</p><p>The first thing she noticed was the burning sensation that pulsed from her chest, most likely a broken rib or something. She leaned against one of the crates, coughing at the pain that erupted. </p><p>She’d have to push through it, Lance needed her help. With a groan, she pressed a hand over where her broken rib was, charging forward. This time, she feigned right and snuck in an unexpected blow. The warden’s footing lost its roots, and Lance was dropped to the ground.</p><p>“Shiro!” Lance shouted, getting the black paladin’s attention. “Take Pidge and Slav and get out of here! Blue says she’ll take you guys back to the castle!” he added. His bayard took the form of the blue sniper rifle, and he took aim. The white bolt of energy hit its target, sending the enemy taking another step back.</p><p>“What about you?!” Shiro responded, arm glowing with a pale purple. </p><p>“I’ll be fine!” Lance spat, taking another shot against the warden. “Just go! You guys are of more use to the team than me!”</p><p>“He’s correct! If we want to get out of this reality intact, we must listen to the Blue Paladin and go!” Slav screamed, already scuttering towards the Blue Lion. Shiro’s mouth twitched in hesitation, before swallowing back his words.</p><p>“Okay, stay safe or I’ll lock you in a room with Slav when we get back,” Pidge could hear the uncertainty in his tone, but she also knew that he understood the importance of getting Slav. But Pidge on the other hand, had a different perspective.</p><p>“Yeah, Shiro you get Slav,” she nodded, going off to offer backup to Lance. “Now, enough of your self-sacrificing bullshit, we’re a team godammit- and I am not leaving you alone in an advanced prison,”</p><p>And with that, the Blue lion set off. </p><p>The warden regained his composure and growled, the hands on his back easily picking away Lance’s bayard. It skidded to the far wall, reverting to its standard form.</p><p>“Ay, dios mio,” Lance grunted in Spanish. Pidge lunged forward, in hopes of buying Lance some time to get his bayard. Her own blade connected with his jaw, but her victory was short-lived as his flesh fist connected with her already injured abdomen.</p><p>All air was knocked out of her system, causing her to choke on her own coughs. She felt the broken rib- she shouldn’t be feeling it, especially not that deep. She groaned, her body wracking in a string of wet coughs. Pidge felt the blood drizzling down her chin, but she was too tired to wipe it away.</p><p>God, she could really use a nap right now.</p><p>“Pidge!” came Lance’s voice. “Fuck!” he yelled, tossing away his drive to run towards the Galran. Right now, his main focus was protecting Pidge- he had to make sure she was okay.</p><p>“Hey, hey- Pidgey, can you say my name?” He stumbled over his words, hands searching her body for whatever injury was influencing the stream of blood flowing from her lips. He took out the Altean healing remedy solution Coran insisted they all carry on their person after Shiro got hurt on the mission to central command.</p><p>He found what he was looking for when he felt the unnatural divit at her lower ribs. He swore, tearing open the pouch and smearing the liquid over the wound, watching as her skin began to glow a pale blue, light slipping through the black fabric.</p><p>“I wouldn’t waste all of that if I were you,” the warden’s voice taunted. Lance cursed, reaching for his bayard. It was at that moment he realized it was across the room.</p><p>And it was a second later that he realized how utterly screwed they were.</p><p>. . . . . . . . .</p><p>Pidge groaned, noting the lack of pain erupting into her system when she shifted her position. She was in a large, rectangular, room, with a singular metal bed that had a meticulously placed blanket atop.</p><p>Lance was next to her, dried blood trickling from a wound he had taken to the head. She moved again, carefully running her fingers through the Cuban’s hair to get a better look at the wound.</p><p>It wasn’t the end of the world, but it definitely was not pleasant either. She thought back to her garrison days, and tried to remember their crash course on head injuries. She recalled that they bled more, but that didn’t mean they were more dangerous.</p><p>“Okay- uh, Lance?” she spoke softly. There came no response. Her eyes gave Lance another look, double checking for any other injuries she may not have spotted. She made a mental note that both of their armors were gone, and they were left in their flight suit.</p><p>Shame, she could have really used that face model to bust out of this cell.</p><p>“Guess I’ll do it the old-fashion way,” she muttered to herself, tracing her fingers along the metallic walls in search of a panel that would give way to the wiring for the cell door. She found purchase, and cracked a grin to herself.</p><p>She pulled at the panel until it fell to the ground with a satisfying clang. A multitude of wires greeted her, and she got to work. Without any tools, it was definitely more of a hassle, but she’d manage.</p><p>“Pidge..?” Lance moaned from where he lay. His voice was weak- a large different from his typically swagger attitude. </p><p>“Lance!” Pidge responded, dropping the wires she held in her fingertips to approach him. “Are you okay?” she asked.</p><p>“Wow- Pidge? Taking an interest in my well-being? That’s a score for Lancey Lance,” he grinned, flashing a dubious smirk towards the green paladin. She rolled her eyes, and groaned.</p><p>“Or I could just leave you in this corner to suffer, your pick,” she retorted, the smallest of grins spreading onto her face. “But seriously, are you hurt?” </p><p>“Only my heart, man- you wouldn’t really leave me to suffer would you? Not cool, not cool, I’m wounded,” he dramatically gasped. Pidge snorted, and stood from her crouched position next to him.</p><p>“I’m going to get back to work on opening this door, then,” she stated, continuing to flick wires against one another. They sizzled and sparked, and at one point the lights in the cell shut off. Pidge grunted, moving to a different area of the panel- and sure enough, the door slid open. “Bingo,” she smirked.</p><p>“Nice work, Pidge,” Lance cheered, standing up. He made a show of cracking his back before approaching the green paladin. “Are you ready to go?”</p><p>Pidge gave an affirmative nod, and the two dashed down the hallway, playfully racing against one another. They turned the corner, pausing at the warden’s office.</p><p>“I know you’re there, paladins,” the warden’s voice taunted from the room. Pidge cursed, getting ready to fight.</p><p>Instead she was hit by something from behind, and she felt it spreading down to her legs before she collapsed to the ground. She had forgotten about the paralyzing foam, damnit. Lance soon joined her, groaning as his face roughly hit the ground.</p><p>“I will be honest, I was quite surprised when you managed to escape your cell,” he began, exiting the safety from his office. He crouched down, picking up Pidge by her arm. A grin slipped onto his face as she could do nothing but glare at him with pure fury burning in her honey eyes. “Would you say you are the brains of Voltron?” he hummed.</p><p>“Get your hands off her!” Lance hollered, fighting with his limbs- for once in his life could he just do something worthwhile?</p><p>As if she could read his mind, Pidge drifted her gaze to Lance. “It’s.. it’s okay, Lance- I’ll be fine, please don’t hurt yourself or I’ll beat you up,” she threatened. The blue paladin didn’t believe a word she said, instead choosing to shoot a glare at the Galran.</p><p>“Take me instead,” he demanded, ignoring Pidge’s yells of protest. The green paladin was thrown against the wall with a grunt. “Take me, do whatever you want- just don’t hurt her,”</p><p>“I truly enjoy your drive, but it is the green paladin’s mind I seek. Such intelligence and knowledge should be an alright replacement for what you’ve taken from me,” he growled. Lance’s blood ran cold at the mere thought of this guy hurting Pidge.</p><p>“You can’t have her!” he protested, finding the strength to move his arms. He weakly pulled his body forward, as if he could grab the warden’s boot and yell at him like a dog begging its owner not to go to work.</p><p>It was a hopeless case, in other words.</p><p>“Lance, shut up!” Pidge screamed. “Stop being so selfless and self-sacrificial and accept the fact that some people care about you! I can take it, so please just stop trying to get yourself hurt- are you trying to get yourself killed?” </p><p>Lance halted when he saw the tears streaming down her face. “Pidge,” he whispered.</p><p>“Let’s get you to the other cell, and this time you won’t be escaping,” the Galran cackled, hoisting both paladins up with his artificial hands. When the door opened, Laika was nowhere in sight. The cell was the same as the first. “I’ve removed all the sentries, so in case your hands do manage to free themselves, you have no technology to meddle with,”</p><p>Pidge yelped as she was thrown down, the warden fastening two circlets around her wrists. She groaned, and the Galran pushed her against the wall- the cuffs sticking to the metal panels of the cell. Magnets, Pidge guessed.</p><p>“Pidge!” Lance yelled once he was tossed to the floor. The cell once again slid shut, and he fought against the numbness in his limbs. Pidge needed him, he needed to get up and help her.</p><p>“Lance, I’m fine,” Pidge mumbled, feet kicking against the wall. “Just peachy, how’s it hanging?” she attempted to joke, only causing more worry to bubble in the Blue Paladin’s eyes. He shook his arms, sighing when feeling returned to him.</p><p>“Dios mio, Pidge- if your jokes are that bad something is definitely wrong,” he said. He wrapped his hands around one of her wrists, pulling as hard as he could. The magnets were string, he really had to give the Galra that. “Ugh, I can’t get this down- do you want me to kneel under you so you can sit on my shoulders? It’s gotta be hard on your arms to just be hanging like that,”</p><p>“It’s all good,” she sighed, trying herself to pull her arms away from the wall.</p><p>Vargas passed, and Pidge felt the cold in her fingertips. Too much longer of this and she’d lose circulation in her arms, and she could not afford that happening. As if the universe was reading her mind, she suddenly fell forward. She whined, the sudden rush of blood in her arms producing a shake of discomfort in her stature.</p><p>“Pidge!” Lance yelled, immediately rushing to be at her side. The door slid open, and Lance held the green paladin close to his chest- eyes screaming hatred at the man who entered. He didn’t bat an eye at Lance, instead simply grabbing Pidge.<br/>All she could muster as a response was an annoyed groan. </p><p>“Blue Paladin, come or she will get hurt more than I have planned,” the warden snarled. Lance’s blood went cold as he stood, frowning as he followed the Galran down several hallways. They stopped at a room Pidge had yet to see when they freed Slav.</p><p>Upon entering, the green paladin wanted to gag. First of all, pushed into the far wall was a chair with numerous restraints. A variety of torture equipment was proudly hung on the wall, meanwhile chains hung from the opposite end of the room from the chair.</p><p>The room was designed to torture whoever was in that seat, and the person being forced to watch.</p><p>And her heart sunk when she realized that Lance would be the one watching. Her suspicions were confirmed when the Galran wrapped the chains around Lance, arms awkwardly dangling above him while his legs were shackled to the ground.</p><p>Pidge groaned as she was shoved into the seat, heart beating fast as restraints were tightened around her ankles, neck, and wrists.</p><p>“I’ll be kind to you and offer that you give me the information I seek through standard.. persuasion,” the warden smiled. </p><p>“No! No, you can’t hurt her!” Lance yelled. Pidge shot him a look, and he stopped. </p><p>“Lance, no matter what happens, promise me you won’t talk- we can’t risk any of our plans falling into Galra hands, especially now,” she said. It was a miracle that the anxiety bubbling in her throat didn’t spill into her words.</p><p>“Pidge-“ Lance began, his complexion submerged in worry.</p><p>“Lance, promise me,” Pidge softly said, biting back a shaky breath.</p><p>“Okay,” Lance said, shifting in his chains. </p><p>The warden smiled, holding a twisted blade in his hand. Pidge’s blood ran cold, her back attempting to arch- every inch of her being screaming at her to get away.</p><p>Her eyes traced over the blade- it was curved, and ragged. Her breath hitched as the man stalked towards her. </p><p>“So, what is that plan Voltron is currently working on?” He asked, dragging the knife down her stomach. Even with the lack of pressure, she could feel the warm blood already pooling at the surface of the skin.</p><p>“We’re not going to tell you,” Pidge spat, glaring at the warden with malice in her eyes. He didn’t even look back at her as he drove the blade into her thigh. </p><p>She screamed, panting at the pain- it burned and stung like hell. The warden smiled, slowly pulling it out. The ragged edges of the blade made the slowness of his actions double the agony she was in.</p><p>She felt the warm streak of tears spilling from her eyes as the blade finally exited her body. Pain pulsed from the wound, blood pouring from where she had just been stabbed.</p><p>“Pidge! Shit- are you okay?” Lance yelled. He knew it was a dumb question- he had just watched his teammate get stabbed- he had just witnessed Pidge scream- something they only heard when she was frustrated.</p><p>Her typical groans and bit back whimpers were nothing compared to that- and dios- Lance wanted nothing more than to pull away from the chains holding him back and to beat the warden to a pulp.</p><p>“Do you have a different answer for me?” The Galra spoke again, wiping away the crimson that covered the blade and placing it back on the wall. He made a show of tracing over each tool, stopping occasionally at something that looked nearly deadly.</p><p>“Y-yes,” Pidge spat through the pain. The warden’s ears perked, glancing at the girl. The venom in her eyes alone should have been enough to kill him, but he still stood. “Fuck. You,” </p><p>He growled, picking up a green vial. Pidge tried to wiggle out of the restraints, but even then the one around her neck would be an issue. He aggressively pushed his hand next to the wound, pushing down.</p><p>She screamed again, blood pouring with even more ferocity. She bit her tongue, whimpering. Lance was yelling, struggling against the chains. She knew that at this rate, she would pass out- and she knew that the warden knew this too.</p><p>“I don’t like that answer,” he finally spoke, removing the cork from the vial. Immediately, the antiseptic smell of a lab burned Pidge’s nose. The warden poured the green liquid into the stab wound, cackling as Pidge screamed and spasmed. </p><p>“You monster! Stop!” Lance was close, the warden had accidentally knocked down a long spear, and the blue paladin was just about able to reach it. He needed more time, but that time would be spent hurting Pidge.</p><p>Her screams died down, and she was left groaning with every twitch of her body. </p><p>Lance’s toes wrapped around the spear, and he pulled it towards him, the momentum sending it higher into the air so his fingers could wrap around it.</p><p>The metal was terrifyingly sharp, slicing through the chains like butter- but he wasn’t complaining. Pidge’s eyes were closed, but she was definitely in pain. Her lips were curled in a way Lance had never seen before.</p><p>He bit his lip, slicing through the shackles that bound him to the floor. The second he was free, he charged forward.</p><p>The warden didn’t have time to respond once the spea drove through his chest, where his heart would have been if he had one.</p><p>Lance held no remorse for the people who hurt those he loved. The Galran collapsed, and Lance rushed forward, removing the restraints that held Pidge down.</p><p>“Hey Pidge? You good?” He asked. He knew his face was creased with concern, and he knew that she most definitely was not okay. But he needed her to be- he needed her, period.</p><p>“Hhn… ‘urts,” she mumbled, eyes blinking. Lance wrapped his arms around her small body, terrified of how light she was in his arms. He knew she was small, and he understood that made her light.</p><p>But this was not normal. </p><p>“Okay, I’m going to take you to the escape pods,” Lance gently cooed, brushing her hair away from her eyes. She groaned again, discomfort and pain evident on her face.</p><p>Lance made a run for the warden’s office, gently laying Pidge against the wall as he dressed himself in his armor. Pidge whined as he carefully put on her own- bayard immediately disappeared into the holster on her hip.</p><p>If only she were awake, he could use some of the Altean medical goop on her leg. But she was most definitely unconscious at this point- and if not, on the brink of it.</p><p>He scooped her up once again, whispering soft promises of comfort. </p><p>Lance entered the escape pod, punching in the coordinates for the Castle of Lions.</p><p>They were going home.</p><p>And Pidge was going to be fine.</p>
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